Division Points battles to watch next few weeks...

(Ed. Note: I was incorrect on my original scenarios. Apparently at some point they changed the rule on out of divisionals at some point. The only rule is you must claim 3 in division races. Corrections made below.)

While the TAD National points chase is garnering much attention, there are some very heated battles going on for divisional championships.

To frame the picture, there are 3 remaining open division races. This weekend, the Division 4 closer in Noble, Okla., next weekend (Oct. 14-16) the Division 2 closer in Reynolds, Ga., and the final event of the year, Nov. 4-6 in Las Vegas. There is a rain-out race from September's Division 4 event in Houston that has both alcohol categories down to the semifinals.

Division 1:

TAD is down to a 3 horse race with Karen Stalba as your leader with 299 points. She has attended 7 races in her former Morgan Lucas A/FD, and has a semifinal finish to replace. She has only been to one out of division race, so she can go to any of the remaining three events. Her maximum points total is 341 with a win at her final points gathering event.

With second place Mike Kosky out of races to claim, the only drivers with mathematical and realistic shots at the title are Dan Mercier and Dan Page. Mercier trails Stalba by 42 points in 3rd place and Page is one point behind in 4th. Mercier has the most room to improve as he has only been to six events with no out of divisions. He has a pair of semifinal finishes he can replace, so, if he was to win one event, he would tie Stalba's current total, and max at 341 points if he were to win two events.

Page has attended 7 events, but has a first round loss to replace. A win would put him into first with a maximum of 309 points. Our guess is you will see the team in Reynolds.

In the event of a tie between Stalba and Mercier, Stalba would win on the first tiebreaker of 'scored' in division points. If Mercier will make a run at it, we look for him to be in Noble this weekend, then on to Reynolds. He needs a combination of a win and runner-up to pass Stalba. If Stalba were to make it to another final, Mercier would need wins at his final two events.

It comes as no shocker that Frank Manzo secured the Division 1 Title once again with a perfect record in his Al-Anabi backed TAFC.

Division 2

While Duane Shields still has work to be done to try to secure his first national championship, he essentially has the Division 2 TAD title locked up. Al Moeser still has a mathematical shot, but considering the car he drives is owned by Dan Mercier, who needs the out of division races to keep his title hopes alive, we're putting this at a long-shot. While it doesn't rule out him renting another ride, he must win all 3 remaining events to pass Shields.

Top Alcohol Funny Car is a wide open race between Mark Billington, Melinda Green-King and Mickey Ferro. If anyone had a 'homefield' advantage going down the stretch, it would have to be Billington. While he has recently relocated to the Dallas, Texas, area, he has raced at Reynolds for many years. His prowess at getting down divisional tracks has shown as he is the current points leader with 235 points. He has only attended 4 divisional events, all in-division. With one full race to claim, if he were to win Reynolds, Noble and Vegas, his points total would be 383 (maximum).

Green-King trails Billington by a slim 12 points. She, too, has only been to 4 events, but two of them were out of division events. That means she has to attend and take points from the final Division 2 event in Reynolds (you must claim 3 in division races towards your total and to be in contention for the division championship) If she were to win the division, she would be the first woman to win a TAFC Division Championship. One of her out of division races was a DNQ at Englishtown, so she could pick up 75 points with a win if she were to go to Noble or Vegas. Add a win in Reynolds and her maximum total is 383.

Back 42 points in 3rd is Mickey Ferro. Sidelined much of the summer after a crash at the Jegs Allstars event in Chicago, Ferro has only attended 4 races as well. One of those events was an out of division race where he runner-upped in Englishtown. He has the option to run all 3 remaining races to make a run at it. If he were to win all of those races, his maximum total is 352 points.

Billington gets the nod in the event of any ties due to in-division points.

Division 3

Both TAD and TAFC are wrapped up in Division 3. Bill Reichert in TAD and Chris Foster in TAFC are your 2011 Champs.

Division 4

For the lack of drama in Division 3, Division 4 more than makes up for it. With this weekend's event in Noble, and the resumption of the rained out Houston event, there are 7 drivers with a mathematical shot at the TAD crown, while it's 'only' a two horse race in TAFC.

If you look up the points on NHRA.com, it may be a little misleading because they have not factored in the first round losses from Houston. The semifinal matchups are Aaron Tatum vs Kristen Dennis and Buddy Domingue (pronounced Doh-Main) vs. Mike Manners. First round losers were points leader James Thompson, Forrest Fair, David Brounkowski and Chase Copeland.

At the moment, Thompson is the leader in the clubhouse with 277 points. He has attended 5 events, one of them an out of division win in Topeka, so he 'only' has one more out of division event win he can add. If he were to win in Noble, then win in either Reynolds or Vegas, his maximum total would be 383 points.

In second place is second-year driver Forrest Fair, in a former Thompson A/FD. Fair has attended five races, with one out of division. He currently trails Thompson by 21 points. If he were to win Noble, Reynolds and Vegas, his maximum total would be 404 points.

IHRA Pro Fuel Dragster Champ Mike Manners sits back in third with 224 points, but he is still in the Houston race. Now he and the other competitors still in that event have the option of withdrawing from the race and it would not count against them as a loss, or even that they attended the event. NHRA allows that when a race is rescheduled due to weather. He has four events on his current score card with one of them being an out of division event. If he were to win Noble, Houston, Reynolds and Vegas, his maximum total would be a perfect 425.

Defending Champ Copeland has a hot hand in fourth place, but has just about run out of races. He trails Thompson by 95 points. He still has a mathematical chance, and we've seen stranger things happen. With his first round loss in Houston, he has attended six races, one of them an out of division. So he has the option of Noble and one final out of division race. His maximum if he were to win both is 288.

Former Div. 4 Champ Tatum sits back in fifth with only 3 races and 149 points on his score card. As mentioned earlier, he is still in the Houston race, so he has a lot of points he can pick up in a hurry. If he were to run the table in Noble, Houston, Reynolds and Vegas, he could have a perfect total of 425 points.

While a long shot, David Brounkowski has a strong running car and a mathematical shot in sixth place. He has been to four races, all in-division. He could win out at the remaining three races, and end up with a maximum total of 330 points.

Not so far back in a seemingly distant seventh is 'blast from the past' driver Domingue. He is still in at the Houston race and will face off with Manners. Outside of that, he has attended three in-division wins. With Houston remaining and wins at the final 3 races, his maximum total would be 383 points.

With so many competitors with a chance, we'll have a much clearer picture after Noble.

In TAFC, it's a much simpler picture with just Tony Bartone and Steve Burck in the title chase. Bartone currently holds a sizable 128 point lead over Burck, but Burck has only attended 4 events. Both drivers are still in at the Houston event, and will race each other in the semifinal round, in what might prove to be a pivotal match up.

Bartone has attended 6 races with three of them being out of division. He has an out of division win and a runner up. He is not in Noble, but he is still in at Houston. If he returns to Houston, that will be his 7th event, and if he were to compete at Reynolds or Vegas, that would be his final event, but he would have to win to pick up any points. His maximum total is 404.

Burck, has attended four events and the Houston event, all in-division, so he has quite a few points left on the table. He has the option to run all four remaining events and if he were to win-out, his total would be a perfect 425 points.

In the event of a tie, Burck would get the nod due to more in division points. He can tie him with a combination of a win, runner up and second round at his next three events. Any combination of two wins would clinch it for him.

Division 5

I have to apologize for incorrectly declaring Randy Meyer as the Division 5 Champ. Richard Putz can pass Meyer if he wins Noble this weekend.

Meyer currently holds a 32 point lead on Putz. He has attended seven events, so this weekend will be his final event. If he reaches the final, he clinches the Championship. Putz has also been to seven events and is trying to improve on a second round loss. He must win the event without Meyer going to the final to win the Division.

In TAFC, it is a two horse race between defending champ Kirk Williams and points leader Roger Bateman. Dale Brand could tie Bateman with a out of division win, but Bateman would get the nod on in division points.

Bateman has a 21 point lead over Williams. He has attended 7 races with an out of division win and runner up. He is in Noble, so he must win there to add to his total. He currently has 330 points, and his max is 351.

Williams has been to 6 races, all in-division. He has a first round loss to improve on. He is currently in Noble. If he makes the finals and does not lose to Bateman, he will clinch the championship. If he does lose to Bateman, he will have to go to Reynolds or Vegas and win to pass him. His maximum is 383.

Division 6

Division 6 Top Alcohol Dragster has already been clinched with Joey Severance's perfect 5 win season.

Division 6 TAFC is still up for grabs after being dominated by Brian Hough for the last few years. Four drivers still have mathematical shots at the title.

Defending Division 7 Champ Steve Gasparrelli is the leader of the pack, and a sentimental favorite of many after the passing of his iconic father, Lou, earlier in the year. He has attended 7 races, with two of them being out of division. He has a first round lost to replace, so with an out of division win, he could max out at 362 points.

Clint Thompson is currently in second, trailing Gasparrelli by 31 points. He has attended 6 races with one out of division. He has two semifinal losses he can replace, so he must either win one to pass Gasparrelli, or reach the final at two events. If he were to win both, his maximum total is 362.

Defending Champ Hough sits back in third, but is in good position to make a run at it. He has been to 5 races, all in-division. He has a first round loss and a semifinal to improve on. He currently trails Gasparrelli by 63 points, meaning it will take a win and a runner-up to over take him. Having attended no out of divisionals and only 5 races, he can go to the three remaining races to try to accomplish that. If he were to win two out of divisionals, his maximum total would be 341.

While a bit of a long shot, Sean Bellemeur still has a mathematical shot at the title. He has attended only four races, one of them an out of division event. That gives him two shots to score a couple of wins. With no improvements by the others, he could grab the lead with a 319 point maximum.

Our spies on the ground in Noble indicate both Hough and Thompson are there.

Division 7

Again, we apologize for confusion we may have caused in reference to Division 7 TAD.

Jim Whiteley currently leads the Division with 277 points. The team chose to lean more on out of division events, so he must compete at Vegas for his total to be valid towards the division championship. He has two out of division wins in 7 events, so the team must take points at Vegas. The silver lining is they will be full points, so he could increase his total to 362.

Of his five out of divisions, four of them have been in Division 5. If he had claimed Division 5, he would be the current points leader and Randy Meyer would have to go to the finals at his last out of division race to catch him.

Demke is currently only 11 points back in second place. He has only attended 4 in-division events. He is in Noble this weekend. He has two wins, a runner up and a first round so far. He can go to all three remaining events, and any combination of a win and semifinal or two runner ups will clinch the division for him. In the event of any ties, Demke has the most in-division points.

In Division 7 TAFC, it's down to 2 cars, Jay Payne and John Lombardo. After many years of claiming Division 2 in both dragsters and funny cars, Payne would love to add a championship from his backyard. Payne currently leads Lombardo by 21 points. Payne has been to five events, two of them out of division. One of those was a win in Topeka, so he can still pick up a win a one out of Division and the D7 closer in Vegas. His maximum total is 404.

Lombardo has had a good year, but has a good shot at overtaking Payne. He has been to 6 events, two of them out of division. Like Payne, he could still pick up an out of division win and win the D7 closer in Vegas for a maximum of 404 points.

Lombardo could pass Payne if he were to reach a final and Payne did not make it past the first round at any remaining events. If Payne reached the semifinals of one event and Lombardo were to score a runner up, they would tie at 341 points. If that event was Las Vegas, Lombardo would win the tiebreaker based on more in-division points. There are a number of scenarios outside of that, but it would boil down to who does better at the final D7 event in Vegas.

So all eyes are on Noble this weekend. We will update scenarios after we officially see who is on the sheet. Right now our sources tell us TAD has quite a few cars with Randy Meyer, Richard Putz and Chris Demke along with the usual Division 4 players. We are hearing that Demke's travel is delayed and he will not make it in time for the first session. In TAFC, we hear Clint Thompson, Terry Ruckman, Brian Hough, Steve Burck, Ron Morrison, Billy Davis, Vern Moats, Roger Bateman, Mark Billington and Kirk Williams are in the house.

 

Noble update #1

There are no D1 cars at Noble, so it looks like D1 TAD could be decided in Reynolds next weekend...

Mark Billington is on the property but reportedly was not ready to run Friday's qualifier, but no sign of Melinda Green-King or Mickey Ferro.

For D4 cars, David Brounkowski and Buddy Domingue decided not to make the trip, so they take themselves out of the title hunt.

Steve Burck is still battling for the D4 TAFC title. Tony Bartone is sitting this one out.

Kirk Williams and Roger Bateman are both in attendance at Noble for D5 TAFC.

Brian Hough and Clint Thompson are battling out D6 TAFC. Reportedly Steve Gasparrelli's rig is already sitting in Reynolds.

Chris Demke is in Noble even though he didn't get there in time to make the run yesterday. According to our math, he just needs to qualify today.

Jay Payne and John Lombardo are not in attendance, so D7 TAFC will go down to Reynolds or Vegas.

 

My apologies

My apologies for screwing up the scenarios. Especially to Randy Meyer, Richard Putz, Roger Bateman, Kirk Williams, Jim Whiteley, and Chris Demke.

 

Noble

With heavy rains in Oklahoma, scheduling conflicts and the track being booked next weekend, the Noble Division 4 closer will be rescheduled to this Thursday.

It will be interesting to see who stays.

 

Noble r1

TAD E1:
Randy Meyer 5.393/264 def James Thompson smoke
Michael Manners 5.379/274 def Richard Putz no show
Chris Demke 5.376/265 def Forrest Fair 5.79/260
Brandon Pierce 5.460/265 def Chase Copeland 5.461/272
R2 matchups
Meyer vs Manners
Demke vs Pierce

TAFC E1:
Clint Thompson 5.79/247 def Ron Morrison 6.03/239
Brian Hough 5.83/243 def Kirk Williams no show
Vern Moats 5.83/240 def Steve Burck no show
Roger Bateman 5.639/254 def Steve Griboski no show
R2 matchups
Bateman vs Thompson
Hough vs Moats

 

Tad e2

Manners 5.340/274 def Meyer 5.413/263 (redlight)
Pierce 5.39/265 def Demke 5.427/263

 

Tafc e2

Moats 5.690/253 def Hough 5.794/245
Bateman 5.666/253 def Thompson 5.76/254

 

Noble Final results

TAD:
Manners 5.412/265 def Pierce 5.549/256

TAFC:
Bateman 5.695/253 def Moats 5.728/251

 

And we move on to Reynolds

Unfortunately weather played a major factor in what could have featured some big head to head matchups for division championships. With the race on Thursday, many elected not to return.

Division 4 TAD looks a lot clearer, and Mike Manners is now the points leader and in the driver's seat to win the division. He scored a clutch win today. He has 309 points and is still in eliminations at next weekend's resumption of the Houston race.

James Thompson and Forrest Fair failed to improve their standing with first round losses. Aaron Tatum still has a mathematical chance. All 3 must go to Reynolds to stay in title contention. Thompson would at best tie Manners (if he were to lose his semifinal round against Domingue in Houston), with one win, so he needs at least a win and semifinal to have a chance. Fair needs at least a win and a runner-up. Tatum needs a combination of two wins and a semifinal to pass Manners. Manners will be improving on a first round loss next weekend in Houston.

Chase Copeland, David Brounkowski and Buddy Domingue are officially out of the race now.

Division 4 TAFC is getting closer to being official. Burck qualified, but did not come back on Thursday. If he does not show in Reynolds, he will need to win Houston and Vegas to catch and pass Bartone. Further, with no Reynolds, Bartone would clinch the Division with a semifinal win over Burck in Houston or a final round showing in Reynolds or Vegas.

Division 5 is still up in the air due to the rainout. Richard Putz and Kirk Williams both made the trip and qualified, but did not make the return trip on Thursday. Technically, the race won't count against them if they decide to go to Reynolds or Vegas. Bateman solidified his points lead. Both Putz and Williams need to score a win at Reynolds or Vegas to take their championships.

Division 6 TAFC looks like it will be decided in Reynolds (There are only a handful of tracks further from D6). Thompson and Hough both lost in the semifinals. Thompson needed to reach the final to add to his total, while Hough picked up 11 points. Reportedly, Gasparrelli will be in Reynolds. Thompson does not have to go to Reynolds; he only has one more race to claim. He could sit back and see what happens with Hough and Gasparrelli (assuming he is there). Hough must attend and must at least reach the final. He needs a combination of a win and a runner up to pass Gasparrelli.
Gasparrelli reaching the final clinches the championship for him.

All eyes to Reynolds...

 

Championships clinched Saturday

With first round in the books in Reynolds, some championships were clinched on Saturday.

With Dan Page's first round loss, Karen Stalba locked up the D1 TAD Championship.

With no-shows from James Thompson, Forrest Fair and Aaron Tatum, Mike Manners locks up the D4 TAD Championship.

With the first round losses of Clint Thompson and Brian Hough, Steve Gasparrelli locks up the D6 TAFC Championship.

D2 TAFC is still up for grabs today. Demke is trying to lock up D7 TAD as well.

 

Reynolds

With Mickey Ferro's win today in Reynolds, and Mark Billington's semifinal finish, they are both tied with 278 points. Ferro will have to go to Vegas and win first round to pass Billington. Billington would have to go to the finals to gain any points.

Melinda Green-King still has a chance as well if she decides to make the trip. She lost first round in Reynolds, but would be replacing a DNQ, so she would also need to win first round to pass Billington.

Chris Demke's semifinal loss still gives him a 43 point lead in D7 TAD. Jim Whiteley will need to make the finals to pass Demke. Demke will also need to make the finals to pick up any points. If both were in the final, the winner would be the D7 Champ.

 

congrats to 2011 Division Champs

This past weekend's Division 7 LODRS in Vegas caps off a great year of points battles. Jim Whiteley and John Lombardo came through to win their Divisions this weekend.

Congrats to this year's Champions!

Div 1
TAD: Karen Stalba
TAFC: Frank Manzo

Div 2
TAD: Duane Shields
TAFC: Mark Billington

Div 3
TAD: Bill Reichert
TAFC: Chris Foster

Div 4
TAD: Mike Manners
TAFC: Tony Bartone

Div 5
TAD: Randy Meyer
TAFC: Roger Bateman

Div 6
TAD: Joey Severance
TAFC: Steve Gasparrelli

Div 7
TAD: Jim Whiteley
TAFC: John Lombardo